MYRTLE GLEN FARMhttps://myrtleglenfarm.com
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 04:51:21 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngMYRTLE GLEN FARMhttps://myrtleglenfarm.com
Welcome to Myrtle Glen Farmhttps://myrtleglenfarm.com/2010/02/12/welcome-to-myrtle-glen-farm/
Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:45:47 +0000http://myrtleglenfarm.wordpress.com/?p=7Continue reading "Welcome to Myrtle Glen Farm"]]>Tucked into a beautiful isolated north-south valley, on the western slope of the Coast range of southern Oregon, with a clear, clean river named Middle Creek running through, is our farm. 27 acres of lush pasture and 100 year old conifer forest, barns, and a home surrounded by productive and established orchard and gardens, the land sits a mile or so below a narrows in the canyon, where tall rock walls like sentinels stand above the road and river that head up east into what old timber is left in this part of these blue-green mountains that face the sea. To the west the hills rise and fall a couple of times before the mainstem Coquille river winds it’s way lazily to the surf some 25 miles distant. A winding, scenic 20 minute drive takes you to the old town and county seat of Coquille, and another 20 minutes lands you in the second largest port on the Oregon coast, the city of Coos Bay.

Weather here is mostly wet for the months of December-March, with temperatures ranging from the 30’s to 50’s, occasionally dipping into the 20’s…occasionally snowing…then, through April and May the rains begin to taper and the sunny spells increase to remind us of the amazing summer to come. As seems to be the case in most shorter summer climates, life seems to take on a certain urgency of beauty and celebration of itself. With the mercury hovering in the 80’s to 90’s commonly during the long lazy afternoons, the creek is a welcome respite. Fall can stretch out into sweet, ripe days and lingering warm, scented evenings..with crisp, starry nights when the Milky Way is like a bright brushstroke of glitter across a deep blue-black sky. When the winter rains return they are a welcome relief to the dry land and ensure the continuing cycle of fertility and fecundity.

Myrtle Glen Farm has been growing organic food for over 35 years spanning two sets of owners. We raise goats, ducks, bees, and chickens, as well as caring for our farm dogs and cats. By amending and composting the clay-rich earth, along with ample spring and river water and long summer days, we have sustainably raised bumper crop after bumper crop of delicious vegetables and fruits over these many seasons. Greens and herbs are grown in the greenhouse nearly year round, and the garden starts are also seeded and raised there starting with the tomatoes and peppers in February. The lath house is where the starts are “hardened off” before their risky transplant to the cool spring soil..and exposure to the lurking late frosts. As the soil warms, an eager horde of various starts join direct seedlings to fill the nearly half acre veggie garden with a continuously changing show of color and form that finishes with bounty and memories..filling the pantry, food storage room, freezers and happy bellies. Apples, pears, plums, kiwis, cherries, and figs join in a steady flow of fruits to fill dehydraters, cider press, wine crocks and canning jars. Berries both wild and gardened, and grapes join in as harvest moons wax large.

This land has a very long history of bounty and human involvement, in fact, thousands of years. The natives in the area harvested, used fire to manage, and met here to scrape hides, harvest Salmon, swap stories and genes. They took good care of their world here as it took good care of them. As was the case in most all of this western land, the coming of the whites marked the ending of an era..and a gradual, then gaining momentum, destructive change took place. As the most recent stewards of this land, we wish to find rhythm in the symbiosis that was once exhibited between humans and their natural surroundings. We wish to illuminate the impacts of private industrial forestry and its impacts on the Middle Creek Watershed.

Our mission is to be the change we wish to see. The path to growing food and living sustainably on the edge of the forest is filled with moments of pure elation, yet chock full of challenges that scrape, bump, and bruise the soul. The mental scar tissue that forms makes for a resilient human being and builds a resilient community of beings. Together, with all whom this land touches to their core, we will become better human beings who use this land as a conduit to bestow deep love and respect upon our planet. And no matter the challenges we face, we will remember to laugh often and love much.